World Championship medalist and two-time Ukrainian Olympian Igor Chervynskiy has been “seriously wounded” in his country’s ongoing war with Russia, the Ukrainian Swimming Federation and fellow Olympian Sergiy Fesenko report to SwimSwam.
The 43-year-old was serving a combat mission on the front lines of the ongoing war when he was injured. While the exact nature of his injury has not been described, a photo shows him in a hospital bed with bandages on both legs and a metal medical device on his left leg. Fesenko says that he was hit by munitions dropped from a Russian drone.
Courtesy: Ukrainian Swimming Federation
Chervynskiy was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, the country’s 6th largest-city with a pre-war population of 1.4 million. He was born there in 1981 when it was part of the USSR. That city near the Russian border has been a focal point of fighting in the war; as of April 2024, the Ukrainian government reported that almost a quarter of the city had been damaged or destroyed.
Chervynskiy was the 2003 World Championship silver medalist in the 1500 free and bronze medalist in the 800 free in Barcelona, part of Ukraine’s great distance swimming tradition. He was also the 1999 (SCM) and 2000 (LCM) European Champion in the 1500 free, two of five European medals in that event; a three-time World University Games Champion, the 2000 World Short Course Championship runner-up; and a three-time European Junior Champion in 1998 and 1999.
Prior to the start of the war, he was working as a swim coach at the youth sports school Spartak. Last year, at 42, and after two years of serving in the war, he won the Ukrainian Championship in the 5,000-meter swim in a 50 meter pool.
Fesenko called Chervynskiy “the hero of Ukraine” and is spearheading a fundraising effort to get him to the United States for rehabilitation (details here). Fesenko has been active in several war relief efforts, including convincing the Indian government to send war supplies to Ukraine, and finding avenues for young Ukrainian swimmers to train in other countries using relationships formed during his own elite swimming career.
Fesenko was on the 2004 Olympic Team with Chervynskiy and his father, Sergey Fesenko senior, was a 1980 Olympic gold medalist in the 200 fly for the USSR. Fesenko currently lives in the United States.
Fesenko says that he is one of three known national swimmers who are currently fighting for Ukraine in the war.
With war engulfing the nation, including estimates of around 700,000 Ukrainians currently actively fighting at the front, several athletes have been involved in the war. Earlier this month, former Ukrainian National Team hockey player Oleksandr Matviychuk was seriously injured after being shot; Eugine Obendinskiy, ex-captain of the Ukrainian National Water Polo Team, was killed in a bombing; and a Ukrainian National Swimming Team coach spent two hours trapped under rubble when a building she was sheltering under was hit by a missile.
Estimates of total fatalities from the war vary widely by source, but recent estimates by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies reports that Russia has suffered approximately 250,000 deaths and 950,000 casualties in the war since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while Ukraine has sustained an estimated 60,00-100,000 killed and up to 400,000 total casualties, including injured.
Photographs
Fesenko provided these photographs via Chervynskiy; SwimSwam could not verify the authenticity of the pictures.
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Courtesy Igor Chervynski/Sergey Fesenko
Thank you everyone for your wonderful words of support for Igor and for 🇺🇦. Level of sacrifice and bravery that our Ukraine defenders demonstrate every day – is unthinkable.
When I asked Igor how he ended up in the front line he said: “all men around me are fighting and risking their lives, why shouldn’t I do the same?” Wish you the best and see you in Cincinnati for a rehabilitation!
I am sorry to hear this my friend. I know Trump is trying to unravel all of the mistakes from Biden and the previous administration. This war needs to end immediately!
Why am I getting downvoted for saying this war needs to end?
If I had to guess – it would be the implication that you’re praising Trump and disparaging Biden.
If you had just left it as “I am so sorry to hear this my friend. This war needs to end immediately!” I’m sure it would’ve been upvoted to infinity.
you’re getting downvoted for the misappropriation of blame for the invasion of Ukraine
There’s literally been an entire alternate reality created where people really do think like this “Biden / dem whoever bad and reaponsible for literally everything, Trump great! Please clap”. So of then have been doing it every single day for over a decade.
The gestalt of it is not entirely a new phenomena but it increasingly epically just so nakedly divorced from just looking outside that it’s getting particularly concerning.
Fun fact. 1984 is not as the Western imagination might think censored or banned in China. Simply, they (CORRECTLY) don’t read the book as really being about their society and culture…
seriously? trump is making it way worse
How exactly is he making it way worse?
Once again, the best and the worst of us.
Wishing you a speedy recovery! Apologies from America, Biden should have NEVER let this war go on for as long as it has. Trump is in the process of bringing peace, thank you for your patience and bravery!
🤡🫵🏻
Wising you a speedy recovery and peace in all of Ukraine My Open Water Friend
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Igor.
My parents are Polish, and they believe only Eastern Europeans can understand the complexity of this conflict. Ukraine should not be allowed to compete as much as Russia. Arguably, they’ve committed a lot more war crimes, you’re just not shown them in Western media. Knowing only 1% of what’s happening, people believe that their opinion matters and they can own an opinion. If you are interested in the Russia-Ukraine war, come to Poland and talk to people. Otherwise, don’t spread your ideas coz they’re based on nothing.
well, where to begin… what you wrote is despicable.
Russia attacked Ukraine. In Ukraine. the end.
and even they don’t. 30% of Hungarians believe Ukraine is attacking Russia
“30% of Hungarians believe Ukraine is attacking Russia”
The power of Russian induced fake news
Russia is taking land that does not belong to them. Ukraine is taking back what belongs to them and a lot of us do know what’s going on because we have family and friends living there. Ukraine has not done anything wrong they are the ones who are having their country stripped away from them.
I hate to break it to you, but the swimswam demographic tends to be a bit more clever than falling for someone claiming to be a pole expressising the least Polish opinion imaginable
Nice try. Poland in 2024 had the lowest opinion of Putin of any surveyed country. Only 6% of Poles “had confidence in Vladimir Putin doing the right thing in world affairs” compared to 92% holding “no confidence at all.”
https://www.statista.com/statistics/457672/global-public-confidence-in-vladimir-putin/
You seem confused. Ukraine was invaded. Poland is also at risk of Russian attack, and all the Poles I know (who either live in Poland, or have close family there) are aware that the risk from Russia is huge.
Meanwhile, my best wishes to Mr Chervynskiy for a good recovery. I’m sure that having to fight in a savage war was not on his agenda until the country was invaded. I hope that he and his family are safe.
How’s the weather in Moscow today?
Excellent post, comrade. Please take one extra potato from bin marked “substandard but edible”.
Not sure who you are. Pro-russian bot, unfunny troll or just a r3t@rd
I think there is something you are missing which is – critical thinking and common sense, I wish you’d show your real name, most likely russo – putinoid of some sort
Tell your parents they are so severely incorrect. Anyone with a brain between their ears and some sort of common sense can form their own opinion and do their own research. You invade = you’re wrong.
Russians should not be allowed to compete this is truly awful and disgusting to see posts and articles about them when that country is off killing other people.
Amen.
Israelis too then?
Yep
Correct
Correct. And don’t allow the Neutral Athlete BS either.